Excise duty relief brought in by the Budget may wither away on input cost pressure for cars in India. In light of these details, Indian car makers are contemplating hiking car prices, although none of them has confirmed the exact hike. Top executives from the auto industry have said the hike could be around 3-5 per cent. Most of the car manufacturers had already slashed prices (on small cars) in the beginning of March following the Budget announcement of a cut in excise duty.
Tata Motors has set up a separate team at its plant in Pune to examine ways to cut manufacturing costs on the Nano, the small car scheduled for an October launch, to bring the ex-showroom price down to the psychological Rs 1 lakh mark, managing director Ravi Kant said.
Maruti Suzuki is planning a further investment of Rs 9000 crore in India for world class R&D centres, design facility, regional distribution centres and logistics support. The fresh investment will be made over a longer period, about eight years, as compared with three years for some earlier investments. Regional warehouses will cut short the delivery time of vehicles. The centralised and timely despatch of vehicles from its facilities in the north will mean faster shipment.
The Tata-Fiat joint venture is looking at catering to the global demand for engines through its Ranjangaon plant.
Unitech and Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd (IBREL) have deferred the listing of their respective real estate investment trusts (REITs) on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX)owing to the liquidity crunch in the global markets. Both Unitech and IBREL have received approval from the SGX for the initial public offers (IPOs) of their trusts.
Mumbai-based property developer Oberoi Constructions, led by billionaire Vikas Oberoi, is planning a Rs 4,000 crore ($1 billion) initial public offer by year end. Vikas Oberoi, also known as Vikki Oberoi is at the 707th slot in the Forbes annual list of billionaires with a wealth of $1.7 billion.
Betting on higher margins from private labels, Reliance Digital, the consumer durable chain of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail, is planning to introduce its own brands of home theatres, LCD televisions and digital cameras. The brands, according to a source, will be called Rldigi. Reliance Digital is planning tie-ups with domestic and international consumer durable and appliance companies. These private labels are expected to contribute 12-15 per cent of Reliance Digit
The much-awaited excise duty cut on small cars to 12 per cent (from 16 per cent) made by the finance minister may have brought smiles on the faces of car manufacturers but this, dealers say, will increase the waiting period on some popular models by another additional month.
Auto component sourcing has touched $3 billion in India and is expected to double by next financial year-end. Such sourcing has provided Indian players with the opportunity to charge a premium that varies between 5 and 10 per cent.
Future Group will retail lightings and electrical products under a new brand - Bijli Ghar.
Today's Writing Products is entering retail of office supplies and stationery products with 500 retail outlets.
Videocon's consumer durable and electronics chain Next has opened nearly 330 stores in the last two and half years, making it the largest chain in the country. Turnover is expected to cross Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) in this financial year. Business Standard caught up with Next's Director K S Raman on the company's growth plans.
The aircraft costs nearly $45 million (nearly Rs 180 crore). The company owns a 12-seater Challenger 604 and a seven-seater Cessna Citation Bravo under the fixed wing operations.
Rs 1,199 spread comfortably across 84 months or 7 years. The rate of interest is 11-11.5 per cent, which is cheaper than a two wheeler loan.
Real estate developers like Indiabulls, DLF, Peninsula and even retail giant Future group are all considering converting space reserved for malls and hyper-markets to office space to meet heavy demand from financial institutions, investment banks and large companies.
Indian tyre makers are expanding their capacities in the wake of international players flooding the Indian markets.
Yamaha is all set to launch two premium bikes, priced close to Rs 1 lakh. This is an attempt to revive the company's dipping sales and image.
Reliance Retail has tied up with Microsoft to launch the concept of connected homes.
MV Agusta, the Italian exotic superbike maker, is actively looking to launch its bikes in India
Say lower duties could enhance demand.